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27-08-2013| Adidas MiCoach Smart Ball

The morning before a big game, every player wants nothing more than one-to-one coaching from an expert. From the outside, the Adidas MiCoach smart ball looks just like any other training ball, but on the inside it’s a whole different ball game. This revolutionary development has been in the works for the past 3 years and is set to be released in 2014.

Designed to improve technique, power, spin and accuracy, a central nucleus at the core of the ball detects every movement made, analysing everything from the speed in RPM and distance covered to flight in the air and the trajectory of the ball. Kevlar coating ensures the Smart Ball has the same appearance and durability as a normal training ball, with black guide stripes indicating where the player should position their foot.

The ball feeds information to an app on the user’s smartphone, which analyses the player’s performance and feeds back to them through four different categories. Firstly, the ‘Just Kick It’ function provides immediate analysis of the performance. This is followed by the ‘Get Better’ feature which provides direct feedback and video tutorials to improve technique. ‘Challenge Yourself’ sets the player a series of goals to meet based on their previous achievements. Over time, the ‘Record Book’ feature keeps a log of the player’s performance. This combined gives a more advanced overview of the training than any technology has before now.

In the past, some of MiCoach’s products have only appealed to a very small market, but the Smart Ball is set to revolutionise the way clubs both small and large operate worldwide. Coaches will have the power to analyse their team’s performance by seeing where the striker hits the ball instantly from an iPad at the side of the pitch. Could the future of football coaching lie- literally- in the player’s hands?